New Computer System
| Published: 15th October 2008 11:52 |
Hampshire County Council is introducing a brand new library computer system, making it easier for customers to access information and services on the web and offering improvements for library staff.
From the comfort of home or the office, customers will be able to browse Hampshire County Councils entire stock catalogue with ease. The new technology uses more advanced search methods than the current system and will let customers reserve items to collect from a local library or even order items that are not listed.
Customers who register their email address can choose to receive email alerts when new books, or other material on specified subjects have been added to stock.
Transferring data is a complex operation: each piece of data has to be copied from the existing Galaxy system, converted into the right format for the new Spydus system and loaded into the new database, then all the data is indexed to enable the powerful searching in the new system. Hampshire has a large amount of data, with millions of records relating to our customers, our stock, the transactions when items are borrowed and all the related administrative and financial information. This means the transfer has to be done in a number of stages, with different types of data being transferred and checked for accuracy at each stage. Each stage also has an impact on the service we can provide.
Library staff are working hard to introduce the new system and minimise disruption to the service while the new system and equipment is installed. There will be some unavoidable disruption from August 8 until the new system is up and running in late November.
